Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

Chapter 215 : Raw Stone 5

"Wake up, it's your turn to take over... Brin?"

Having struggled to stay awake for half the night, Yuna was originally very drowsy, but the moment her hand touched Brin, she was instantly jolted awake.

So hot!

Startled by this abnormally high temperature, Yuna realized something was seriously wrong.

It was still winter, and the night temperature was particularly biting. In such a rudimentary place, their blanket was very thin... Why was her body so hot?

"Brin, Brin... Wake up, wake up quickly!"

Even as she anxiously called her friend's name repeatedly, the only response was increasingly labored breathing.

"...Big Sis, it's so late, what's wrong?"

Ah Huang, who had come to check on the commotion, emerged from the mine rubbing his sleepy eyes. Yuna grabbed him as if clutching at a lifeline.

"Ah Huang, you're just in time!! Is there a doctor here? Quickly find someone, someone to help her!"

"A-alright! Don't panic, Big Sis, I'll go find someone right away!!"

With his followers, Ah Huang hurriedly brought a local witch doctor, but after examining Brin, the elderly witch doctor shook his head repeatedly.

"These are the symptoms of the 'stone disease'... I'm very sorry, but we are powerless to help."

"How can this be..."

This so-called 'stone disease' was precisely the strange illness Ah Huang and the others had mentioned before, a notorious incurable disease in the abandoned mining area.

...Could it be because of the ore she dug up earlier today?

Thinking of something, Yuna searched here and there, finally finding a transparent, high-purity earth vein ore that had been entrusted to Brin's care.

After her hand touched the ore, seeing the faint red glow emitted by the stone, Yuna finally realized what had happened.

"B-Big Sis??"

She suddenly turned and gripped Ah Huang's shoulders, her gaze terrifying, nearly scaring this restaurant worker.

"Ah Huang! Tell me all the symptoms of this 'strange disease'!!"

"Ah...! Alright!!"

As is commonly known, this strange disease has two types of symptoms.

One is 'solidification syndrome'. As the name suggests, in the early stages of the disease, patients' fingers, nose, ears, and various extremities begin to harden. It starts with skin peeling off like tree bark, and eventually even the bones harden and become like stone, turning hard and brittle. A slight fall could break them in two, a truly horrifying sight.

This is why there are so many disabled old miners with prosthetic limbs in the abandoned mining area.

"What about the second type of symptom??"

Yuna urgently pressed for more information.

"The second symptom is 'fever'—Sometimes it occurs simultaneously with the first symptom. After contracting this symptom... the patient's body generates an abnormal heat from the inside out, eventually leading to weakness in the limbs. In severe cases, it can even cause spontaneous combustion... The curly-haired one's symptoms match this, and these are all caused by contact with the ore deep in the mine! But don't worry too much, Big Sis. Curly's symptoms are in the early stage. As long as there's no further contact with the ore, there shouldn't be too big a problem..."

"Yuna..."

Just then, a weak hand grasped her own.

After the ore was taken away from her, the fever symptoms finally subsided a bit. She still looked very weak.

"—Brin, you idiot!! Did you sleep while holding this dangerous thing?!"

However, she smiled.

"Wait, what's there to smile about?! Do you not care about your life??"

"Heh... Have you forgotten what we learned in school? To prove the effects of elemental interactions... we need a control experiment... The experimental effect is obvious, which proves my guess was correct."

"...Brin, you science maniac!! Who uses themselves as an experimental sample?!"

"I'm an elemental affinity holder. Ordinary earth vein ore wouldn't have any effect on me."

"But this isn't ordinary—"

"You've noticed too, haven't you?"

Brin struggled to sit up and took the ore from her hand.

"...What's produced here isn't ordinary single-attribute earth vein ore, but a mixture of 'earth and fire' dual attributes."

Brin had discovered while mining that the bedrock and sedimentary rock cross-sections here were unusual. According to the rock's annual rings, there had been volcanic lava sedimentary layers here long ago, with considerable fire element content, and the earth veins also passed through this ore vein... Under such special conditions with dual attribute enhancement, what was born was no longer single-attribute magic ore, but special, dual-attribute ore that fused two interactable attributes.

The elemental diffusivity of rare dual-attribute ore is more than ten times stronger than ordinary ore. Even for ordinary people like Brin who possess resistance to one of the attributes... that's why the magical penetration is several times stronger than normal magic ore... If not properly handled, continuing to dig deeper would surely lead to a major incident.

This situation is not entirely without solution—As long as one of the elemental attributes is neutralized with magic, preserving the other, mining operations could be carried out more safely and properly.

However, dual-attribute magic ore possesses several times the elemental magical power of ordinary quality ore. It's unthinkable that those greedy merchants would give up this unique, enormous profit.

Now, all the puzzle pieces fit together.

Those so-called experts sent by the Eastern Country couldn't possibly not understand this point.

What remained... was only the 'economical and affordable' path of sacrificing the miners.

The lives of their own kind here had become less valuable than a fist-sized stone.

"We can't just leave this be..."

"—Of course we can't ignore it!!"

Yuna angrily pushed down Brin, who was trying to struggle up despite not having fully recovered.

"No!! I can't let you continue to take risks!!"

"I'm fine, the doctor also said that as long as I'm careful from now on..."

Without further ado, she lifted Brin's clothes where the ore had been placed, revealing large areas of magical burns on her lower abdomen.

"You're injured this badly, so just lie down and rest!! Leave the rest to me!!"

"But..."

It will be tough from here on out.

"'It will be tough from here on out...' Is that what you're thinking?"

Brin suddenly drew in a sharp breath.

"...When did you learn mind-reading??"

"Do I need to guess? I've known you for so many years... If I couldn't guess these little thoughts, I'd truly be failing as your 'best friend'."

"So... I alone..."

However, without letting her finish, Yuna had already applied medicine and wrapped up Brin's injured areas like a zongzi.

"...Is it not okay if we're together?"

"Eh?"

Thinking she had misheard, Yuna quickly explained further, her face red:

"I mean, 'the Yuna-Brin combination is invincible! The two of us... can definitely, definitely do anything!!'"

Brin was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter as she realized:

"I can't believe you... still remember the lines from back then? You're right, it's so fitting—"

"...Stop laughing!"

Yuna looked exasperatedly at Brin, who was laughing so hard she was in tears, then wincing from the pain as her laughter pulled at her wounds, almost wanting to roll on the ground.

Even now... this is still what she thinks.